Professional Presence and Influence (D024) is the first course in the MSN Core at Western Governors University. It focuses on the nurse as a person: presence, self-care and the relationships that make care therapeutic.
WGU's program guide describes presence as an intrapersonal and interpersonal quality, with characteristics of holism, intimacy, sensitivity and adaptability. Students learn self-care techniques for mental and physical well-being and develop a focused mindfulness practice intended to influence patient outcomes and create joy in the workplace.
The course appears at the start of WGU's BSN-to-MSN pathways; the 2019 Nursing Informatics guide lists it with 2 competency units. Students often find it unexpected, because it combines personal reflection with evidence-based academic writing and a workplace improvement problem.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Course | D024 Professional Presence and Influence |
| Area | MSN Core (BSN-to-MSN programs) |
| Level | Graduate, competency-based |
| Competency units | 2 (2019 program guide) |
| Typical work | Reflective and evidence-based papers on presence, mindfulness and workplace change |
What D024 Covers
| Competency (summarized) | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Promote a healthy work environment through professional presence | Show self-awareness and how it shapes your interactions |
| Build positive relationships and promote mindfulness | Propose practical strategies for mindfulness at work |
| Recommend social communication strategies and technologies | Use communication to promote caring and belonging |
| Apply improvement science to workplace hostility | Tackle incivility and promote health and joy at work |
| Use the principles of academic writing | Write clearly, concisely and with evidence |
Key Concepts Explained
Presence in Nursing
Presence means being fully attentive to the patient, not just physically in the room. It supports trust, better communication and more accurate assessment. The guide links it to leadership as well as bedside care.
Mindfulness as a Practice
Mindfulness is attention to the present moment without judgment. In a busy unit, short practices (a breathing pause before entering a room, a moment of reflection at handover) are more realistic than long sessions.
Improvement Science and Incivility
Incivility and bullying in nursing are linked in the literature to stress and turnover. Improvement science offers a structured way to address it, often through Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles that test small changes and measure the effect.
Example: Staff on a surgical unit report rude exchanges at shift handover. Plan: introduce a two-minute structured handover script and a shared civility agreement. Do: trial it on day shifts for four weeks. Study: compare a short anonymous staff survey before and after, plus the number of handover complaints. Act: refine the script and extend it to night shifts if the results improve.
Self-Care as a Professional Skill
The program guide links self-care to ethically generated patient care. The reasoning is practical: a nurse who is exhausted or overwhelmed finds it harder to be present, notice changes in a patient or respond calmly to conflict.
When a task asks about self-care, treat it as a professional skill with evidence behind it, not a personal luxury. Useful angles include:
- Recognizing early signs of burnout and compassion fatigue in yourself and colleagues.
- Small, repeatable habits that fit a shift pattern, such as protected breaks or brief mindful pauses.
- Organizational supports, such as debriefs after difficult events or access to employee assistance programs.
- How leaders can model self-care so staff feel permitted to practice it.
Connect each point back to presence and patient outcomes, so the paper stays focused on the course competencies rather than general wellness advice.
Typical Work and How to Approach It
WGU courses use either exams or written performance tasks; check your course page. Work in D024 typically involves:
| Type of work | What it tests | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Self-reflection | Self-awareness and presence | Be honest and specific; link insights to practice |
| Strategy paper | Mindfulness and relationships | Propose realistic strategies backed by literature |
| Communication plan | Caring and belonging | Match strategies or tools to a real team need |
| Improvement proposal | Improvement science | Define the problem, a PDSA test and measures |
Where Students Get Stuck
- Reflection with no evidence. Personal insight still needs scholarly support in an academic paper.
- Vague strategies. "Be more mindful" is not a plan. Say what, when, who and how you will measure it.
- Skipping measurement. Improvement science depends on measuring change.
- Writing style. The academic writing competency matters: clear structure, APA citations, concise sentences.
Study Tips for D024
- Keep a brief reflection journal while you work through the course materials.
- Find two or three recent peer-reviewed articles on incivility or mindfulness in nursing early.
- Use the PDSA structure as headings in any improvement proposal.
- Read your paper aloud to catch long or unclear sentences.
How We Help with D024
Send the task, rubric and any evaluator feedback, plus your draft if you have one. A nursing writer can explain presence or improvement science, find credible sources for you to read, edit your writing for clarity and APA style, or prepare an explained model. See our nursing leadership paper guide for related support.
GradeEssays is independent of Western Governors University. Reflections must describe your own experiences, which we never invent. Our work is a study and editing aid, and what you submit must be your own under WGU's academic integrity policy.
Strengthen Your D024 Writing
Share the task, rubric and feedback. A nursing writer prepares an explained model you can learn from and adapt.
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Frequently Asked Questions
WGU's program guide lists Professional Presence and Influence first in the MSN Core of its BSN-to-MSN programs.
The 2019 Nursing Informatics program guide lists 2 competency units. Check your degree plan for the current figure.
The guide names holism, intimacy, sensitivity and adaptability.
Yes. One competency is applying the principles of academic writing to produce clear, concise, evidence-based work.
A structured approach to testing small changes and measuring their effect, often using PDSA cycles.
No. Reflections must be your own. We help with structure, sources, editing and feedback.